LATIKA M BOURKE: Why Anthony Albanese’s ‘intimate wedding’ details should worry Labor MPs

It is wonderful news for the PM that he is finally going to tie the knot with his fiancée Jodie Haydon.

The Daily Telegraph’s front page splashed with the news based on an interview Ms Haydon has given to Women’s Weekly to be released this week.

She revealed the details of their planned nuptials and the role to be played in the “intimate” ceremony by Toto — Mr Albanese’s post-divorce furry companion that he acquired after his split from his first wife, former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt.

Politics can take a terrible toll on marriages and personal relationships, so the 61-year-old PM’s second shot at love is something to celebrate. The PM’s romantic proposal on Valentine’s Day last year was a joy he wished to share with the nation via his social media accounts shortly afterwards.

And the country wishes him well ahead of the nuptials, which Ms Haydon said would be attended by family and friends and while the date is still not set, it could be held in the spring.

“You can be sure Toto will make an appearance,” Ms Haydon told the magazine.

The report said they intended to keep their big day private, regardless of the outcome of the election, which is speculated to be held as soon as April 12 following Tuesday’s first interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank — the first in five years.

Governor Michele Bullock and the RBA Board’s move was the hard-fought news Labor had been waiting for, with the cost of living the highest issue of concern for voters heading to the polls in a couple of months time.

But there’s another message in town post-rate-cut day — the prime minister is getting remarried.

“Neither of us doing much planning at the moment,” Mr Albanese told WSFM radio host Brendan Jones on Wednesday morning.

“We’re waiting to get through the election, our focus is on that.

“And after that, of course, it’s now a bit over a year.

“I, of course, proposed on Valentine’s Day last year and it’s lovely having that certainty and it’s just fantastic at my time in life to find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with.

“The wedding will be in the second half of the year.”

It’s all lovely but it does beg the question, given that there’s no date set and no change to this story, why is the Prime Minister elevating his personal life at a time when the government has the first good news cost-of-living story it has had to tell in years – and at such a critical time in the election cycle?

Many may find it relatable that the PM has long wanted to invite Australians into his new romance, sharing details of his proposal to Ms Haydon at the Lodge, how they met and navigate the challenges many modern relationships face when they blend families.

Cultivating a DJ Albo, hoodie-wearing image, the Labor leader has always tried to project an air of a man who is down-to-earth, relaxed and accessible.

Unfortunately, by making a day that should have been about the budgetary relief the interest rate cut might offer hardworking Australians about his non-wedding date, he looks self-indulgent.

And it has left some of his ministers mystified.

“Spectacular self-sabotage,” is how one frontbencher described it to The Nightly.

“I can’t believe that the battlers of Australia are dying to hear about the role of the dog in the wedding,” another minister drily observed.

“Finally some good news for the government to sell but they have to fight with Toto for air time,” observed a senior Labor source.

“How can this possibly be his priority today of all days?”

These are not just gratuitous personal attacks and they are not made lightly.

Mr Albanese’s ministers have been incredibly disciplined despite his many errors leading them to a potentially losing position just weeks out from the start of the election frenzy.

But this discipline has given Mr Albanese a false confidence that his campaigning skills are better than they are and that his judgement is in sync with the Australian population.

Today is another example of where he has again unnerved his MPs. Judgement and campaigning are critical to a successful politician but can make or break a leader on the campaign trail.

“Every Labor marginal MP should be seriously worried about his inability to stay on the grid,” one Labor strategist said.

Those mounting a defence of Mr Albanese say the magazine interview would have been organised a while ago and that the Prime Minister’s spin team would have no control over the timing of its release.

That may be true. But perhaps a wiser assessment might be to ask how constant discussions about his to-be-confirmed wedding date show him in touch with the concerns of everyday voters at any point in time.